About Jim
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For the 2025-26 legislative session, Jim was elected Chairman of the House Republican Appropriations Committee.
Like many citizens raised in western Pennsylvania, Jim was instilled with the traditional values of hard work, personal integrity and community service. He is committed to protecting those values in the state Capitol, while fighting to reduce government spending, eliminate burdensome taxes, create more family-sustaining jobs, improve the climate for businesses and work to ensure the agriculture industry has the proper tools and support it needs to be successful.
Jim’s many years of experience as a journalist, press secretary with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) for District 11 and president of the Indiana County Chamber of Commerce shows that he understands the importance of maintaining of good infrastructure.
Jim’s strong faith has helped him to cope with the loss of his brother, Michael, who died from an overdose at the age of 31. Addiction touches all ages, genders and socioeconomic statuses, and Jim vows to try to solve this crisis by working together with community, state and federal leaders.
Jim is committed to improve the quality of life for all residents and make sure our children have the best education available. As part of his legislative priorities, he will protect our state and national constitutions and will advocate for state’s rights, Second Amendment rights and school choice.
A very creative individual, Jim fulfilled a dream to write several well-loved children’s books, The Christmas Secret and Jacob’s Haunting. The young adult novels set in Indiana County teach children the importance of family, morality and courage.
He graduated from Penn Trafford High school in Westmoreland County; earned a degree in electrical wiring from a technical school in McKees Rocks near Pittsburgh; and acquired his bachelor’s degree in English writing with a focus on communications from the University of Pittsburgh in Greensburg.
Jim tends to focus on big-picture, incremental solutions and is a big believer that success is derived through hard work and personal sacrifice rather than government intervention.
He, his wife, Christina, and their children, Aviana, Talan, Zarek and Vaughn, reside in White Township, Indiana County.
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